The Oct. 21-22 conference brought together research mathematicians, mathematics teacher educators, researchers, classroom teachers and school administrators to discuss a nationwide problem in mathematics education: how to implement the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice. Continue reading…
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/dsg
The National Assessment of Educational Progress released its 2011 report card this month. With assessments in mathematics (and language arts) administered at grades 4 and 8 periodically over the last two decades, the results are an indication of how mathematics achievement has changed over time. Continue reading…
Sherry West of Lincoln Southeast High School was a 2011 Freda Battey Distinguished Educator Award winner, presented by the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences. Sherry received a check for $6,000, and her school received $3,000. Continue reading…
Make plans to attend! All teachers of mathematics (especially of grades 6-12) are invited to join in an evening of free food, fellowship and fun at a "Dinner & a Math Problem" event this fall. Continue reading…
The kickoff for the 2011-12 Omaha Area Math Teachers' Circle will be held Thursday, Dec. 8, at the UNO Thompson Alumni House, 67th & Dodge, from 4:30–6 p.m., featuring Judith Covington, Mathematics Education Professor at the Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Continue reading…
Interactive Problem Solving by Susan Leavitt, OPS, O2M2
Susan finds that strategically increasing the use of smartboards improved both oral communication and problem solving skills in her sixth grade mathematics classroom. Continue reading…
Every December we feature photos of babies born to NebraskaMATH families. Email a photo and the baby's name to laugustyn2@unl.edu by Dec. 2. (And, for the most part, we know who you are, so you may hear from us again in a separate email!)
Nominations for two important awards are now being accepted: (1) the 2012 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching for grades K-6, and (2) the 2012-13 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program. Continue reading…
More details at: http://www.einsteinfellows.orgDeb Romanek, Director of Mathematics for the Nebraska Department of Education, reminds readers of two resources available to Nebraska teachers preparing for the next administration of the NeSA-M; (1) the Standards Instructional Tool (SIT), and (2) the Check4Learning system. Continue reading…
Try out Wolfram Alpha online or on your smartphone for the power of Mathematica via the internet (for free). Offering many dynamic options and 3D graphing, this is a powerful tool for math teachers and students. Continue reading…
ABSTRACT: For many teachers, mathematics is a frightening subject. They are right to be afraid: most math standards are incoherent and virtually all textbooks contain many errors. Worse, teacher education in mathematics, both pre- and in-service, tends to be light on mathematics content. Continue reading…
NCTM President J. Michael Shaughnessy: Is it just me, or does geometry seem to be in the background these days? For the full article, see: http://tinyurl.com/cw5omkd.
Jamie Vollmer, a former director of the Iowa Business Roundtable, blogs about his experiences with teachers and schools. He has learned that treating schools as businesses is not a good model; he challenges people to rethink how we do school in America to better serve children for the 21st century. Continue reading…
The Editorial Panel of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School (MTMS) is still considering manuscripts for the 2013 Focus Issue on Mathematics in a STEM Context. The deadline for manuscripts is Jan. 9, 2012. Continue reading…
We know that many of our newsletter recipients also teach science, or at least know people who do. Following the 2010 release of Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English/Language Arts, the Science Frameworks are now released. Continue reading…
How valid are standardized test scores are predictors of grades? Do they have any validity as predictors of actual accomplishment? Are the tests biased against certain members of society? This article reviews the extensive critical literature on the subject of standardized tests. Continue reading…
More details at: http://tinyurl.com/686zwoh
New book: Real-World Problems for Secondary School Mathematics Students: Case Studies, Edited by Juergen Maasz, University of Linz, Austria, and John O´Donoghue, University of Limerick, Ireland. This is a book full of ideas for teaching real world problems to high school students. Continue reading…